Depressed about new house

lookstraightahead

I've lived in all sorts and the house I found most annoying was a detached as the neighbour had a really barky dog and room for several noisy cars.  Detached houses tend to have a bit more land which is filled with all kinds of distractions! But I've also lived in flats that I've loved, with people surrounding me, and that's been absolutely fine, so often it's luck of the draw.

my house is joined on half of one side but is hundreds of years old so the walls are thicker. However, I had to make sure I was off a main road (lots of old houses are on busy roads) as my issue is road and car noise. 

[Deleted User]

Exodi said:

housebuyer143 said:

No advice, but that's my worst nightmare. I lived in a semi before and luckily the soundproofing was excellent, but I'm so sensitive to noise, that this time when I moved I would only move into a detached because I was so worried about next door being noisy.

Have you never lived in a flat then?

When I rented a flat, I could hear the people walking around above me and I had a single mum the living to the side of me.

So everyday was *stomp* *stomp* *stomp* "TYLER I SAID COME BACK HERE AND EAT YOUR DINNER... NO EAT YOUR DINNER OR YOU'RE GOING TO BED WITH NO PUDDING."

I moved from a flat into a semi detatched house and could regularly hear the neighbours having... fun, which was awkward and like something from a comedy.

I'm much happier in a detatched property - but this also seems like an obvious and out of touch statement - "this lamborghini gets me to work way faster, I don't know why everyone doesn't just buy lamborghinis"

I have, and we couldn't hear the neighbours. Properly designed buildings don't transmit sound like that.

Unfortunately most buildings in the UK are crap. Not just crap, unfixable too. Not just for nose either. It's a massive problem.

fackers_2

neverthoughtidbehere said:

So I'm in mid twenties, saved for four long years for a deposit on a house, had offered accepted on a lovely 2 bedroom terraced in a nice area. Been here 3 months and everything's perfect apart from one side of party wall is disastrously thin. The neighbours are just a quiet couple however I can hear every single internal door shut, footsteps and cupboards opening in the bedrooms, tv and voices, it's literally like there in my own home, which then makes me paranoid they can hear me. Wasn't expecting complete silence however hearing everyday noise is very unnerving and I don't think Il ever get used to it. Looked in loft and it's a single breeze block wall, a lot of noise comes through floor so sound proofing is pointless. I don't think il ever get used to it and i know il want to sell it in a few years ,just depressed knowing it's not worked out and could lose money when coming to se lling. Guess I posted this to be lifted up abit.

I had this with my recent house, was told by the EA that the neighbours were peaceful and could only view the house at very specific times of the day - Turns out they were neighbours from hell) - it caused so much stress and frustration, we just tried to help. We put a lot of pressure on council along with other neighbours and after 7 months they were moved. - We costed up having a well insulated and sound proof wall created which was also very expensive but decided against it after they left. 


How about speaking with them and seeing if you can have sound proofing done between the both of you?

subjecttocontract

Id suggest you have 4 choices :-
* Do nothing.
* Learn to live with it.
* Fit sound deadening.
* Sell.

In the UK we have a detached property so there is never any noise issues as neighbours are well spaced. We have a second home In Spain, an appartment, which is mainly used for holidays. In Spain we hear our neighbours both above us and sideways. I don't like it but I have got used to it over a few years. 

london21

It is not unusual.

You might just be overthinking and focusing on the negatives.

What did you see in the house to make you like it and offer in the first place.

If you are looking to sell, are you sure another terrace might not have the issue you stated.

Focus on the positives of the house. 

Sarah1Mitty2

Sell and rent a detached house, or buy when more affordable.

NameUnavailable

I was in a conversion flat, a detached house with 1 flat per floor. My neighbours below and above me were older single ladies and made no noise apart from when they had visitors. Then the lady below moved and a couple moved in and that was when I realised how poorly insulated the place was, although they had replace the ceilings and fitted spotlights and I'm sure that was part of the problem. I was also on the front door level and one of the neighbours had to really slam the door every time, shaking the building!

I rented a mates house for a while, a victorian semi. There was a family with young kids next door and the noise from them was even worse, a lot of screaming and running up and down stairs which all came through the walls (or when they were out in the garden!). Also the same in the bedroom with noise coming through the walls.

I'm now in a purpose built flat, top floor, but I am hearing noise from the people below - impact noise of footsteps and voices if they talk loudly (when they have visitors ususally) but no TV or music noise. I like to play music and they've not complained yet!

I think you really need a detatched house to avoid any noise but even then you could have noise from music, a barking dog, things like a steam tub or things they do as hobbies - there was a comedy on TV where people move to a remote house in the country and then find the guy who owns the land next door liked to ride motorcross bikes on the land at all hours.........

Jane_Bee

I can't help with practical stuff, but as a few others have said, try to do some work on shifting how you feel about the noise. Maybe some mindfulness or other sort of thing with help. 
I live on ground floor of a converted Victorian terrace. I hear everything that happens above me. I accept that its just day to day noise and try to resist it getting to me. If it did id be miserable. 
Look at why you loved the house wheb you saw it. Focus on all of that and enjoy those things. 

I know this is all easier said than done!

Noneforit999

Norman_Castle said:

killerferret666 said:

The worst part is I'm sure the bigger benefit would be of course filling in the gap between their joists, stopping the noise dead that end.

Joists are rarely a tight fit where they go through walls. Filling the gaps between them and the walls might help stop the airborne noise from under their floor traveling to under yours. It should be possible to do this by lifting only one or two lines of floor boards.

Depends on what way your joists run.

Ours has a central wall which goes down to foundations so joists run front/back to centre, nothing goes into the party wall.

If there is genuinely no cavity at all in the party wall, I really don't think adding bookcases etc is going to make a great deal of difference. Its best if the OP gets a professional in to advise but I suspect they will be telling them the best course of action is to batten the wall and have 'soundproofing' insulation installed, plasterboard and skim over the top. It will mean losing room space though. 

Ramouth

I’m another for trying to change the way you feel about the noise rather than trying to change the noise.  Perhaps it is easier for me having grown up in a busy household, but I just try to think of neighbour noise like hearing siblings and it becomes much easier to ignore!